Improvement in processes and apparatus for amalgamating ores



ZSheets-Sheetl. v M. LAFLIN & S. ELLIOTT. PROCESS AN]: APPARATUS FOR AMALGA'MAT No. 189,313. Patented. A

G ORES. '11 10, 1877."

"-PETERS, PHOTb-LITHOGRAPNER. WASRINQTON. D. C.

2Sheets'-Sheet M. LAFLI N'& SPELLIOTTL PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR AMALGAMA'IIN-G ORES. N 189,313, I Patented April. 10, 1877.

PETERS, FHOTO-LITHOGRAHER, WASHINGTON D c PATENT Osman MATTHEW LAFLIN AND STERLING ELLIOTT, on orrrcneo, ILLINOIS; sA I) ELMO- E A lfi GNQl TQ AID AF IR IMPROVEMENT IN PROCESSES AND APPARATUS FOR AMALGAMATING ORES.

$r e fie ie t rming'pett e hettetete e t li 8313 I34 etes er l 1 87 pr eet ee fi e t h ee m e T ll whom i may OOMBTW- Be it known that we, MATTHEW Lenn e: end S ER ING LL OT -1 f the ty of Ch eege, k nty, S ete ef ll iheiei eve he en d ew and s fu ltept e eh eihhthel ihe ere, et Whieh he e lew he is e fell fie: er p eh, e enee bein ed e the teeth!- P ering draw s, in Wh ieh ure l en end V ew with. o e f the epp he ere p rt-1y h ekeh ewes. he 2 a vertical section of a kettle and feeding-cylint der; i 3, e vertie l llgi tld llttl eet eh 0f th upper pert-i5: i ,4 1 r i el tre se tien f he. pp pert; i eete e the tc -v I y n en on r late t e e e-ters end e heat s f r em gemetieg g ld end et eetg o e with lten edethe h tte of wh h llvm re ul y epneee eh referrin t the e companying description and drawings,

n the d a ngs, A rep ese ts th es enn i h the ke tle ie epnet esis B Q, the pests d upper em -week; D, the ke t e; the v e d ng-ta'l htl t-5 F, the he d-le er;

B I J K h, p y h'i e M1 the uppe support for the stirrer-shaft 5 1ST OP, thebelts; Q, h W he. e ehk; e, t pi t e heed er p un tth th ee-Steine p tlllttlli e, the ranch; d, t p n e e, the ee t -W e n -p n n; f, the the t; 9, th ideef for pi g h stem b n ne tti 'h; he

; hang r or pperti g he ehette f 9-; th ev or e teh for holding 1 p he W i ht Quit he p n the r et ehe ate t e le t, and provided with a hookhat its lowerend; l, t e p .1 th back of t e eteh-ie emi te e e g t we ght; m, t e st p f r lim t ng. the scent of e pi on; h he ben e r o p at ng the .el teh; 0, h lid' hg-her f r PP-Q 13i gth ttel erk P, the ehtteht fork; q, the double-ee i gel e r th hef the stir r-shaft; t, t e w ne er mhe 9f the stirrer; he e 'dienhte ms u, the

plate supporting the cylinder E 5 'v, the hopper w, the hopper-opening; m, the set-screw for adjusting the weight; 3 the shaft.

The kettle D is preferably-ynade four feet in diameter and two and a halfgfieet deep, with a round bottom. This kettle D is supported upon the base A, which base, in practice, will be made of iron, brick, or other masonry, to which the upper frame-work will be suitably the hopper 'v is placed on one side, which hop- I per, in practice, will be provided with a gate t the o n w, t p ve filling e h r inder after the piston has passed below the p h a The pistonthead ct is made to nearly or quite fit th interior of the cylinder, and is operated by a StQlIll orv pitn an, I), which extends to the upper part of the framework, and at its up,- er end is r id h e ek r whine and lowering it. .E tendin g across the kettle, and just above the stirrer-arnes t, a sieve-diaphragrn, t, is fixed, which serves to retard htleth ivtd t e e t i th eh th be he, i e hie eti h th th e i-rreh-e jects it to. a sort of rubbing action that promotes amalgamation. The sieve does not Pete hele the we d Of the e l d E s for if it did so, the proper feeding of the ore into the kettle would be seriously obstructed.

The e t 2/, he h n h -rver t 'th' e ehk B; b t; it preetiee,v t l he r vby power. This shaft is provided with three p yeee K- The wh e-1K, y eets ef th hel h eher heyw ee1 M r tthe stirrer, This arrangement, if desired, may

be substituted by gear-wheels, The wheels H 6 w th the e t 071 53 the P et to i e eeed, whi he Wh e1e., w th t e e P, cause it to ascend.

wh lJ, w he e ht h q, ate tteetetl h the-w .e Fla the e eh ng et ehett t the shett r b meeh re e ene e ehtl teethet, in th tee-e1 theh et- T e-Je tt fork 10 is attached to the shaft 0, which is operated by the bent lever n. The lever n is operated in one directionby the weightQ, and in theother by the hand-lever F.

In operation, the kettle D is filled with molten lead up to six or eight inches from the top; and in order to prevent oxidation of the lead while melting or heating, it is covered with pulverized charcoal to a suitable depth to prevent the contact of the'air. The piston is then elevated, and the cylinder E is charged with the previously-pulverized ores, or ores reduced to an impalpable powder, which, in order to insure the proper working of the machine, should be dry and heated. When suita bly filled the hand-lever F is pressed inward,

, which lifts, by means of its bent arm F, the

lever n and its weight Q. This movement brings the clutch q in contact with the pulleywheel J, which operates through intervening mechanism to depress the plunger and force the ore to be amalgamated down into the kettle from'sixteen to twenty-four-inches, more or less, beneath the surface of the molten lead. The stirrers or arms Make the material as it passes below the bottom of the cylinder E, and distribute it through the kettle or bath, so as to bring all ofthe material in contact with the molten lead. As the lighter ore and tailings rise to the top of the lead-bath they are compelled to passthrough the sievediaphragm, which is of such fineness as to effect their minute subdivision, and thus secure the intimate contact of the lead with every portion of valuable ore. By the conjoint operation of the sieve and the stirrerarms, the dissemination of the ore, and its consequent amalgamation, are insured in a very efiicient manner. In order to prevent the ores from banking against the stirrer-arms, they may be provided with small holes, as shown, or with slits.

*An important feature of my process is theheating of the ore preliminary to its introduction into the feeding-cylinder. If the ore were fed into the kettle in a cold state, on coming in contact with the molten lead, violent ebullition or sputtering would occur, which tends to throw off portions of the lead-bath in its more or less enriched condition, with evident loss to the operator. Since this wasteful sputtering results entirely from difference in temperature between the ore and the lead, it is clear that the higher the former is heated, so as to approximate in temperature to that of the molten lead, the less danger there'will be of loss from this cause.

'When the piston has reached its lowest point of descent, it should be about two inches above the bottom of the cylinder, so as to leave a covering of pulverized ores on the lead in the cylinder, to prevent oxidation when lifting the plunger. The pin Z engages with the'hook on the lower end of the rod K, which pulls down the end of the lever 2', when the weight Q falls and shifts the clutch ginto the wheel I. This reverses the movement,

when the pistona b ascends untilthe top of the pistonstemv strikes against the pivoted bar m, which partly lifts the lever n,so as to relieve the friction of the clutch q, and also'so as tolock against the lever n, and prevent the furtherascent of the piston. It remains in this position until the cylinder is again filled, when, by pressing against the hand-lever F, the weighted lever 01. is again elevated,

. and, when lifted-,the spring j returns the bent armor lever t',so as to catch under and support the weighted lever until it is thrown out by the pin 1 and rod K, as before.

By a change in the diameter of the wheels on the shaft 12 the ascent of the piston is made much more rapid than its descent, which should be measurably slow, in order to insure a thorough contact of all of the ores with the molten lead. 3

It will be advisable to cover the top of the plunger with a sufiicient depth of charcoal, or other suitable materiahso as to prevent the oxidationof the lead which may flow overthe plunger while it' is belowthetop of the bath in operation. A sufficient depth of tailings should be left on the surface of the lead in the kettle to prevent the contact of air to oxidize the lead. l The ore may be heated upon a suitable pan,-

under which'the heat and smoke from the furnace pass on their way to the chimney.-

The stirrers t may be made either reciproeating, oscillating, or in any convenient way,

, according to the situation of the cylinder E,

but the rotary is'the most practical.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- a 1. The cylinderE and piston or plungerIa, located within the kettle D, and in combination therewith, substantially as specified.

2. The cylinder E, piston a, and kettle D,

with or without sieve t, in combination with a stirrer operating between the lower end of the cylinder and the bottom of the kettle, substantially as and for-the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the rack a, pinion d,

and stem or shaft b, with the catch-lever-i,

rod 70,-and pin 1, substantially as described.

4. The combination ot' the stem 1) Withthe bar at and lever n, for stopping the actionot' the piston while the cylinder is being filled,

substantially as specified. l l V i 5. Theprocess of amalgamating gold and silver bearing ores, which consists in forcing the pulverized ore at regular intervals, and in a heated condition, as described, into a bath of molten lead, and permitting it to rise freely to the surface .of said bath during constantstirring and dissemination, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

MATTHEW LAFLIN.

, STERLING ELLIOTT.

Witnesses:

0.-W. Bonn,

L. L. BOND. 

